Wednesday, October 18, 2006

FYI

For now, I'm posting over here. I don't yet if it's a permanent move. There are things I like and dislike about vox, so we'll see how it goes.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Fer Reals?

It looks like our search for a home is finally complete.

The property is half of a duplex that we saw this weekend for the second time. There was an offer ahead of us with a 48 hour contingency (meaning the potential buyers had to sell their house within 48 hours of the owners giving them notice that they had accepted a back-up offer). The other buyers weren't able to sell, so we moved into first place. Our only conditions were/are financing and a property inspection. Our mortgage broker just let the mister know that financing is in place. The property inspection has to be done and approved by us by October 11. There shouldn't be a problem with getting the inspection scheduled and I don't believe there's anything wrong with the property.

The details:
As mentioned, it's half of a duplex. There are two bedrooms and a den, one bath (with room to add a half bath at some point), a large living room with a nice stone-faced wood burning fireplace, a kitchen that has plenty of storage/counterspace and a dishwasher, a laundry room, tons of storage, a garage and a gorgeous backyard with a natural looking fish pond and three fruit trees (apple, pear & plum). It's in a nice, quiet, established neighborhood with lots of big trees. It's much closer to shopping than we are here and it's about 15 minutes to the commuter train. All the appliances are included and, although older, in pristine condition (fridge, stove, dishwasher, washer & dryer). The current owners are an older couple who have kept the place immaculate and the husband is a handyman who has done some nice tweaks to the place. He's hinted that he's leaving all the garden tools (including the lawnmower) in the cute little shed in the backyard. If not, we'll deal with it.

Lest you think the place is perfect, there is some updating to be done. The place needs paint and flooring, but not because it's in bad shape, it's just really dated. The current owners have owned and lived in the place for 16 years and they updated then but nothing since. Plus, as I said, they're an older couple - our tastes do not converge in any way that I can see.

I'm so glad we ended up in a house. No strata rules - I can be a crazy cat lady if I want (just kidding, but I'd like one more), we can have birdfeeders (the first place we offered on said no birdfeeders - wtf?), we can get another dog (although I doubt we will), I can put whatever plants I want wherever I want!

Photographs will be posted as soon as I can take some.

Two more cats?

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Zip! Zap! Zing!

Eye surgery is done. Drops were put in my eyes at about 8 a.m. and they're still dialated. My next check-up is in six months and here's hoping I'll never have any future problems.

We had a nice time at Mum's. We didn't do anything really exciting but it was nice to get away from here for a few days. On Sunday we took a beautiful drive to go to Chili's in Issaquah but it was closed for a staff meeting. Lombardi's was open so we had a nice Italian dinner instead. Mum and I spent a few bucks at Target. Damn, that place is dangerous and it's probably a good thing they don't have them in Canada. The topper to the trip was when we were on our way home and just a couple miles from our destination. A bi-plane was flying over a large field. It was painted to look like the Red Baron's plane! It's too bad I didn't have my camera ready to go.

Speaking of cameras - I took a few shots of Kaylee and one of mum's cats (Callie). I hope there are a couple good photos. I'll process and post them soon.

Tomorrow's mission (ha!) is to see a few houses in Mission. For one of the houses this is a second viewing. Please, keep your extremties crossed.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Moving On

A long time friend of the mister's passed away yesterday. Long time readers may remember him; he's the friend who had a stroke a few years ago. J was diagnosed with lung cancer about a week ago (he smoked up until the stroke). They thought he'd have two to four months without chemo and about two years with. They were working on getting him strong enough for chemo, but it didn't work out that way. I feel so awful for his wife; they were married a long, long time. They have several children and grand-children so she has them to lean on. The service will be Friday or Saturday.

In other news, I had my last pre-surgery eye test today and I'm peeing highlighter yellow. I thought it was nuclear dye they'd inject but it was vegetable based.

We've also lost another bid on a house last weekend. We didn't have much hope for this one, but it was still disappointing. We're going to take a short break from looking and recoup.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Was it Something I Said?

Yet another contract bites the dust.

The seller and the president of the strata said that there wouldn't be a problem with the pets; that they would get us approval in writing. If they hadn't told us that we would have never put an offer in on this last townhome. BUT the treasurer said no. Fuckers.

We're going back to concentrating on houses. They're a bit more expensive but without strata fees to consider, and as long as the taxes aren't outrageous, we can afford a bit more.

Have you picked up on the fact that I'm tired of this shit?

Monday, September 11, 2006

The Second Time is a Charm!

We hope so, anyway.

We just signed the contract for the townhome we found this weekend. It's a bit different from the previous townhome: no formal dining room, not as updated (but in good shape), smaller (no basement), nicer complex and a much nicer backyard. It's also a bit more expensive but still within our range. It's not far from where we live now so the mister's commute will be about the same with no train involved. Oddly enough, for you who remember, it's around the corner from the apartment we lived in four/five years ago.

If we get it (the number of pets is an issue), we won't be closing until December or so. The current owners are in the process of looking for a place. We met the wife and she said they're moving because she wants a house. They have two small children (one is an infant) and I can certainly see wanting more room with a nice yard.

In other news, I'm typing this on my handy-dandy new keyboard (Microsoft Comfort Curve). My old one was filthy beyond endurance (although it was my own filth - eating at one's computer tends to make one's keyboard filthy. I like saying that - filthy filthy filthy!). We also bought a decent all-in-one printer (Epson Stylus CX3810). We had a nice Lexmark (it was free with my new PC a couple years ago) but Oliver decided he needed to remove the encoder (encoding?) strip. Silly beastie. In the interim we were using my ancient BubbleJet (BJC101 or something like that - I got it free with my original eMachine in 1999!). Anyway, the new one is just as nice and he can't get at the encoder strip.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

This Ain't Happin', Man

We're not buying the townhome. We were finally able to review the minutes of the strata (HOA) meetings for the last five years. There have been roof/leak problems since before 2001. The roofs were redone in 2003 and there are still problems. Thanks, but no thanks.

So, we're disappointed of course, but we already have a few townhomes to see in Langley and Aldergove. It's odd but both the mister and I are feeling much more optimistic this time around.

I've kinda dropped the ball on keeping y'all updated on my eye issues: I had my initial appointment and the doc confirmed that I have diabetic retinopathy. I had another appointment to scan my eyeballs (OTC, OCT, something like that). I have another appointment on the 19th in which they inject nuclear dye into me for some more testing. My laser surgery is schedule for September 27.

Bonus points if you can tell me which movie my title comes from.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

I Can Explain Everything

I know, I know. I've been quite absent lately. I haven't been reading what y'all are up to. I've even missed several weeks of PostSecret (*sob* I love that website). There is a reason behind it and it's come to a head today:

Eli and I will be homeowners somewhere around mid-September. Although having the RV to live in has been a life-saver, I'll be oh-so-glad to move on.

Our new home is a recently renovated (three years ago) three story townhome in Abbotsford. It has three bedrooms (all with good closets), one and a half bathrooms, a small backyard (15'x30' and it has gravel seven inches deep in it - that was a "WTF?" moment if I've ever had one), a decent kitchen (nice big pantry - see below for more info), dining room and living room. I even like the colour of paint they used (for the most part). The new laminate is blond, which isn't my favourite, but it's NEW and is used throughout the downstairs except for the kitchen and half bath (both have new vinyl). The laminate is also in the upstairs hallway and more new vinyl in the full bathroom. The stairs and bedrooms are carpeted in decent (not new) berber.

There are several things to do to make it perfect for us:

ASAP: a dishwasher (it'll have to be a portable for now), a clothes dryer (there is a washer but we're unsure if it works), new window blinds (there are blinds but they don't work well and the master bedroom doesn't have anything in the windows), replace bent shower curtain rod.

Semi ASAP: new living and dining room furniture (all we have is my old futon for a couch and an antique dining table that really doesn't work well).

LATER: we'll probably add another section of cabinets/counter tops in the breakfast nook area instead of using it as a breakfast nook, a deck and sod in the backyard, new faucets in both bathrooms, curtains to go over the blinds (I like tabbed curtains on wooden rods), repaint at least one of the second bedrooms (yellow and orange! the other one has dark blue on one wall which isn't bad), new bedroom furniture (my bed is fine but we need two dressers, a headboard, night tables), finish the basement.

I have the MLS photos but I'm reluctant to put them online. Should I anyway? As soon as I can see the property again (during the inspection) I'll take my own photographs.

For those of you who have been reading me a while know how much this means to me. For thems who haven't - I am simply bursting with joy.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Time Flies

September Rain

While driving to my doctor's appointment yesterday I saw lots of yellow leaves on the ground, swirling about in the breeze made by passing cars. It was raining but that didn't seem to faze the leaves, they swirled in spite of the damp. Later in the day I was walking Kaylee and we stopped to watch a gaggle of geese fly overhead. They were heading north and honking like mad. I heard more honking in the early evening, also heading north. Kaylee was standing on the couch looking out the window and I watched her watch the geese go by. It got cold enough last night to want to snuggle under the comforter.

Winters have been pretty mild since I've lived up here. I wonder how it'll be this year.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Are We Home Yet?

Last weekend went okay, it was just way too hot and the Jeep's a/c doesn't work well. And we waited way too long between breakfast and our next meal and I had a pretty bad low blood sugar episode. Being overheated and dehydrated (didn't bring enough water) didn't help. Bleh.

Eli and I agree that Maple Ridge just won't do for us. Not because of the available homes, but the area is just so .. not us. It's boring, flat, not nearly enough trees, not old enough. Back to Abbotsford and Mission we go. We'll be checking out townhomes in Abbotsford this coming up weekend. We're going to pick five or six to look at with our Realtor. After checking out the townhomes we'll decide if we want to pursue the two single family homes we saw in Mission.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Milestones

My answer to Sera in the previous post's comments got a little long so I'm posting it here:

It really is a milestone, Sera. We both feel guilty for being so happy since it's due to Eli's father dying, but he would be thrilled that we're able to do this thanks to him. There's no telling if or when we'd be able to save enough on our own.

There are "first time buyer" concessions in Canada, but Eli has owned homes before so we don't qualify.

We did our first drive-bys today. We found that Abbotsford, which we thought would be okay, won't. The homes in our price range, while looking okay online, just really aren't good enough mostly due to location. BUT we did see two homes we both really liked in Mission that would be much better for Eli commute-wise (he can take the West Coast Express to work). We also saw a few more for sale that didn't come up in our MLS searches. We're going to see if they're in our price range. We're also going to look for Abbotsford townhomes.

There simply aren't any single family homes in our price range in the Greater Vancouver Area except in Abbotsford and Mission. So, tomorrow we're heading out to Maple Ridge to look at townhomes. Maple Ridge has lots of nice townhomes in our price range and would be great commute-wise (better than Abbotsford).

We haven't yet told my mum that this is going on. I'm not sure why I'm so reluctant to do so. Weird, eh?

Friday, August 04, 2006

Home Sweet Home

I've lived in this RV for six years, Eli for seven. Guess what? It was paid off the first week of July and we're pre-approved for a mortgage. I guess we've established enough credit since Eli's bankruptcy (timely payments on the RV and a new credit card about a year ago) that lenders don't think we're too much of a risk.

We're finding that we both want similar things in a home which will make choosing one much less of a headache. We both want a house rather than a condo or townhome (some of them are really nice but you have to live by other peoples rules) which means moving farther out into the Fraser Valley but that's not a hardship as neither of us are exactly city* people. We're looking for a three bedroom (that gives us each an office with my office also being the guest bedroom), two bathrooms and a decent size fenced yard. I've been doing research on MLS and have found a few homes for us to look at. We'll be doing that this weekend.

We have a Realtor (a long-time friend of Eli's) who we'll be going through. She recommended the mortgage broker who got us the pre-approval. I used to be a mortgage loan underwriter (the person who approved or denied loan applications) among other positions at a large savings & loan in the U.S. And due to that I don't have much use for mortgage brokers in general, but this guy seems to be a nice guy and got us a good rate. It's going to be interesting going through the home buying process from the buyer's side as well as being in a different country.

*Eli's lived in Vancouver and didn't particularly enjoy it. I would like the opportunity to live in a city at some point but I know I wouldn't want to stay there forever.

In other news Kaylee's spaying went well. It's been hard to keep her quiet but in spite of that she's healing well. Due to me being forgetful she hasn't had her pain drugs in the last couple days but you'd never know it. I'd love to have half of her energy.

Friday, July 28, 2006

Broken

Kaylee was spayed yesterday. She was so subdued last night, she didn't seem to be Kaylee. She's much, much better this morning - not quite as hyper as normal but definately Kaylee. We gave her her pain meds although she didn't seem to be in any pain. Better safe than sorry, eh? We're gonna have so much fun keeping her quiet for the next ten days.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Bugger

Today's eye appointment/consultation was canceled. Doc had an emergency and he had to fly somewhere. While that doesn't sound good for the doc, it's really irking me. I was hoping for some answers today. And I can only hope my eyes don't get any worse. *sigh*

Monday, July 24, 2006

She's Alive!

I just haven't had much to comment on.

We returned this morning from a trip to Mum's. The Gravol worked a charm to keep Kaylee from puking. We used a quarter of a pill (dose recommended for two year-olds) about half an hour before taking off and that seemed to be about right. She drooled a little but it quickly stopped. Yay!

My consultation appointment with the eye doc is Wednesday. I'm really nervous about it but some answers (any answers!) will be great.

Kaylee gets "broken" Thursday morning. She's also going to get micro-chipped. We have a tag on her but better safe than sorry, eh? The vet will have her most of the day but we should get her back late afternoon.

Other than that, it's been hotter than Hades. How's it going in your neck of the woods?

Friday, July 07, 2006

Random

Forgot to mention that there are new photos of Kaylee up at flickr (link in the sidebar). I can't believe how big she's getting. Compare the first photos of her with the current set and you'll see what I mean. And not a day goes by without someone exclaiming how cute she is and what a great personality she has. I'm rather prejudiced on the subject myself, so it's nice to get confirmation.

I got my hair cut last Friday and it's cute if I do say so. I couldn't stand it being on my neck since it's been so freakin' hot lately. So much for a long bob, it's now in a short bob. I can try again this winter to grow it out, but it's pretty damn cute the way it is. No photos forthcoming. My hair is cute, not the rest of me.

My left eye is really acting up today; lots of blank spots. Although I'm nervous about it, the consultation with the eye surgeon can't come too soon.

We're going to see Pirates this weekend. It's getting mixed reviews but I really don't give a rat's ass. It'll be a great popcorn movie and that's the best kind, if you ask me.

I'm going to the library after my WW meeting today. I have a couple books on hold to pick up. They're a couple kid's books I last read about 25-30 years ago but they've stuck with me. I can't wait to see how they've held up. They're The Cat in the Mirror and The Girl Who Owned a City. Does anyone else remember reading these two books?

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

It's off to Petsmart We Go

Kaylee had her first trip to PetsMart on Saturday. She drooled most of the way to the store but loved being there. Lots of good smells and people handing out love and treats. She wasn't all that fond of getting her claws clipped but it had to be done. The mister and I watched (from a distance) to see how the pros handled it and hopefully we can do it next time.

The trip back wasn't as pleasant for Kaylee or us. The poor pup ended up puking probably because of all the treats. It took her the rest of the day to really recuperate. Saturday was about 90F so it probably wasn't the best time to take her on a field trip. Hindsight is 50/50 dontcha know.

Monday, June 26, 2006

It's Official

I had my ophthalmologist appointment today and what I suspected is true - I have diabetic retinopathy.

The eye doc has referred me to a specialist and the appointment is at the end of July. The doc is pretty sure that there will be laser surgery involved but we won't know for sure until the next appointment.

I'm going to go cry now. Just kidding. Sort of.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Damaged

I believe I have eye damage due to diabetes. I hope I'm wrong but I don't think I am. I have an ophthalmologist appointment next month and I'll find out for sure. The odd thing is that the symptoms (kind of "blank" spots in my vision, mostly in my left eye, macular edema?) started after I started taking care of myself. I suppose I should discuss it with Eli but I don't know that I want to worry him before I find out what's going on.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Peyton Place

Kaylee and I were standing outside minding our own business (well, Kaylee's business) and a couple interesting things happened.

There's an RV across the way from us in which a man, a woman, a pug and a cat live. Whilst Kaylee and I watched the woman came slamming out of the trailer in a flurry. She had on one of her many straw cowboy hats, a black leather jacket with fringes, high black boots and was dragging the pug by her leash. Seeing the pug on a leash was a surprise itself - that dog is never on her leash. Now, this woman comes across as a laid-back California beach babe from 1977. I didn't know people like that could move that fast. BeachBabe quickly disappeared up the road towards the front of the RV park. Kaylee and I looked at each other and shook our heads.

Not ten seconds after this, one female duck attacked another female duck who had one duckling in tow. AttackingDuck latched onto the side of MamaDuck and held on. Both ducks went round 'n' round under the neighbour's RV and into the road and back again. Both ducks were making enough noise to wake the dead. And all the time this was happening the poor duckling was cheeping and following her mum in desperation. AD finally let go of MamaDuck and wandered away.

A couple minutes after the Duck Drama the guy that lives in the RV across from us roared up in his big black truck at a clip a lot faster than the 10kmh speed limit in the park. Ducks who had been sitting in his parking place went scrambling for safety as he pulled to such a quick stop gravel went flying all over the place. He stormed into his trailer slamming everything that could be slammed (truck door, RV door, etc. I think he would've kicked a duck if any of them had remained in reach). He was in there less than a minute, slammed back out, threw himself back into his truck and took off at speed scattering yet more ducks. He hit a speed bump so fast and hard I wouldn't be surprised if something was damaged.

Again Kaylee and I looked at each other and shrugged.

Just then AttackingDuck decided to have another go at MamaDuck who was under our birdfeeders eating sunflower shells with her duckling. I put a stop to that and chased AD back across the road.

Kaylee and I were so overcome by the drama we went back inside our RV and took naps.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Walking Kaylee

I knew having a dog would make a difference.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Bittersweet

Should you get the chance, read The Time Traveler's Wife. I just finished it and it's such a good read.

Next up is The Protector's War, the follow up to Dies the Fire. There's a third and final book but it has yet to be released. Anyway, Dies the Fire was another great read.

Kaylee is sleeping at my feet. She's twitching and letting out little yips. She's so sweet. We really lucked out on getting her.

Friday, May 12, 2006

All Kaylee, All The Time!

Just kidding, but there are more pictures up at flickr. Her potty training is coming along fairly well. I've gotten her to play fetch a bit. She kinda loses it on the fourth or fifth throw but that ain't bad for a 12 week old puppy. When I tell her "no" she stops what she's doing. Kaylee's a genius! (Don't I sound like those annoying parents?) We've been using one of the cat crates for her so we have to get her a new one this weekend. Yet more money out, but that should be the last big expense until she gets spayed.

SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS! /soapbox

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Puppy Time!

I finally have a puppy! I don't know where my camera is so I swiped photos from her previous owner - here and here.

Kaylee's not a pug, obviously, but that was my choice. Pugs can be a tricky breed health-wise and I wasn't sure I was up for it. She's half Shetland Sheepdog (dad) and half Miniature American Eskimo (mum). She was born February 13 which makes her 12 weeks tomorrow. Kaylee's the mostest adorablest puppy ever!

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Weekend Wrap-up

Well, it's a wee bit late to be talking about last weekend, but what the hell.

The meetup went really well. I was much more comfortable and there were quite a few people I had been wanting to meet and they were there! Yay! I never really did a headcount but I think it ended up being around thirty people. There was one person from NoCal, several people from Portland, OR and four from Canada (including Eli and myself). We met up at Elysian again and although they didn't really have the room for us, we managed since people came and went all night and there was room to stand. Eli had a good time and everyone seemed to like him (but what's not to like?).

Eli and I had a bit of a talk last night. It seems we may be getting a puppy sooner than I hoped. I'm still not really walking and, as I've said before, a dog would get me up off of my ass and outside. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

The Yearly Grope

I had my yearly physical today. I hate getting nekkid for the doc.

I have another meetup I'm going to in Seattle. Wheee! I'm becoming such a social bunny. It'll be at the same place with some of the same people. There seems to be a lot coming up from Portland and one or two from San Francisco. It's looking like it's gonna be a pretty big group. Eli is also going this time. I hope he lets me get back online after this.

Mum's going to Lawn Guyland to visit with Bro#2 and his fiancee. That might seem odd as she's going to Vegas to see them married at the end of May, but this was set up months ago. Anyway, she's pretty stoked to be able to see more of the East Coast. So, she'll be out of town while we're in Seattle but she's letting us crash at her place. She's rather relieved in a way because we'll be able to watch her kitties for a couple days.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

I've Been Sorted

i'm in gryffindor!

be sorted @ nimbo.net

In other news, Eli got back Saturday afternoon. Missed the ol' bugger. The only problem is that he brought back a nasty cold. Not really his fault, our movie going pal was at the DPR as well and he gave Eli his cold. And, of course, Eli has given me his cold. They're both bastards.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Canadian Humour, eh?

Reasons to live in Canada:

BRITISH COLUMBIA
1. Vancouver: 1.5 million people and two bridges.
2. Your $400,000 Vancouver home is just 5 hours from downtown.
3. You can throw a rock and hit three Starbucks locations.
4. There's always some sort of deforestation protest going on.
5. Weed

ALBERTA
1. Big rock between you and B.C.
2. Ottawa who?
3. Tax is 7% instead of approximately 200% as it is for the rest of the country.
4. You can exploit almost any natural resource you can think of.
5. You live in the only province that could actually afford to be its own country.
6. The Americans below you are all in anti-government militia groups.

SASKATCHEWAN
1. You never run out of wheat.
2. Your province is really easy to draw.
3. You can watch the dog run away from home for hours.
4. People will assume you live on a farm.

MANITOBA
1. You wake up one morning to find that you suddenly have beachfront property.
2. Hundreds of huge, horribly frigid lakes.
3. Nothing compares to a wicked Winnipeg winter.
4. You can be an Easterner or a Westerner depending on your mood.
5. You can pass the time watching trucks and barns float by.

ONTARIO
1. You live in the centre of the universe.
2. Your $400,000 Toronto home is actually a dump.
3. You and you alone decide who will win the federal election.
4. The only province with hard-core American-style crime.

QUEBEC
1. Racism is socially acceptable
2. You can take bets with your friends on which English neighbour will move out next.
3. Other provinces basically bribe you to stay in Canada.
4. You can blame all your problems on the "Anglo *#!%!"

NEW BRUNSWICK
1. One way or another, the government gets 98% of your income.
2. You're poor, but not as poor as the Newfies.
3. No one ever blames anything on New Brunswick
4. Everybody has a grandfather who runs a lighthouse.

NOVA SCOTIA
1. Everyone can play the fiddle. The ones who can't, think they can.
2. You can pretend to have Scottish heritage as an excuse to get drunk and wear a kilt.
3. You are the only reason Anne Murray makes money.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
1. Even though more people live on Vancouver Island, you still got the big, new bridge.
2. You can walk across the province in half an hour.
3. You can drive across the province in two minutes.
4. Everyone has been an extra on "Road to Avonlea."
5. This is where all those tiny, red potatoes come from.
6. You can confuse ships by turning your porch lights on and off at night.

NEWFOUNDLAND
1. If Quebec separates, you will float off to sea.
2. If you do something stupid, you have a built-in excuse.
3. The workday is about two hours long.
4. It is socially acceptable to wear your hip waders to your wedding.

It's funny because it's true!

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Money as Art

You gotta look here (archives). These art pieces are made with money. Yeah, really.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

All By Myself

Don't wanna be all by myself...

Eli is out of town for a few days. He's gone with 13 other cow-orkers to Toronto for an emergency data retrieval program-thingie (aka: DPR). It's a drill to see if they can recover all the data for the company in 72 hours, get them up and running, blah blah blah. I would guess most big companies do something of the sort. InsCo does it twice a year. This is the first year they're doing it in Toronto (it used to be done in New Jersey) and we can thank Homeland Security for that. InsCo has had the nerve to decline to make available the personal info of it's customers. Yes, the U.S. government has made that a condition of holding these DPR things in the U.S. Anyway, Eli will be back late Saturday. *sob*

Finally bought lotsa flowers for my pots. Got all those planted this weekend, cleaned up the deck, put out it's tchotchkes (little lanterns, a couple birdhouses, a couple whirly-gigs, wind chimes, etc.) It looks nice if I do say so myself. The only disappointment was there weren't any tomato plants to be had. I have to be out tomorrow so I'll make a stop at a real nursery and see if I can rustle up one.

Speaking of tomorrow - it'll be my second WW meeting. Can't wait to see if I've lost weight. There'll be more about that over here in a few minutes.

Speaking of duckies (not that I was), I've seen two hatches so far. They're sooooo cute!

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Calvin or Hobbes?

A Bit Of Both
You are 60% Calvin and 40% Hobbes
Calvin & Hobbes, like a scruffy yin and yang, are in perfect balance within you. Like Calvin, you're weird, a bit insecure, and can be a trouble-maker. But like Hobbes, you're down to earth and sensitive. It's a risk to say it here, after just a ten question test, but I'll bet you're smarter than most. Both Calvin and Hobbes are crafty, clever characters, and any one made from equal parts of each is a force to be reckoned with.

The Calvin Or Hobbes Test written by gwendolynbooks

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Four Day Weekend

One of the pluses, which are legion, of living is Canada is the amount of holidays there are. Eli is off tomorrow and Monday due to the Easter holiday. Yay Canada!

Fun stuff this weekend: shopping for plants! It'll be nice to get them going and to pull out all my deck decor. And I can't wait for more yummy home-grown tomatoes. I don't know what else is on the agenda for the weekend, but having Eli home for four days in a row is pretty cool in my book.

Oh, and a happy Passover and Easter to thems who participate!

[updated]

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Cat Gack

I love AskMe and this thread is a wonderful example.

[ Warning: It's funny as hell, but you'll want to put down whatever you're eating. ]

Keep Your Kitties Safe

Bird flu is supposed to get here (North America) in a few months which is yet one more reason to keep your cats indoors. Two of the RV parks we lived at previously were fairly near poultry farms. A couple years ago millions of birds in the Fraser Valley had to be put to death. And where we are now there is the duck pond I've mentioned. There are lots of resident ducks (Mallards) and there were migrating Wood Ducks this year. I hope this isn't going to be as bad as predicted.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Talking Cats

I saw these videos and just had to share.

Both Oliver and Abigail do the same thing as the cat in the second video, but only when watching crows. Other birds don't seem to trigger it. I have weird cats.

[ updated ]

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

New Blog

In order to keep the weight-loss/health stuff separate from my usual stuff, I've started a new blog here. It's in a rough state at the moment, so please bear with me. Also, I'm requesting help to name the blasted thing. Suggestions are greatly appreciated (see post over there).

I've done a bit of research on WW. As it turns out there are lots of meetings I can go to. I'm not sure when I'll start, but I'm feeling more comfortable with the idea. And hey, timing is everything: they have a special going on now for $15 to join rather than $45. Yay!

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Diabetes Alert Day

Please forgive me as I ramble on about a subject that is near and dear to my heart pancreas:

Dear Abby says today is the American Diabetes Association's Diabetes Alert Day. Here's a link to an assessment test.

Personally, I don't think that assessment test is worth much. While there is probably something in my genetic makeup that makes me susceptible to diabetes, I'm the only one in my family to have it. Two of my four brothers, my mother and father all have weight problems. Yet they are not diabetic. There isn't any diabetes on my mum's side of the family (I don't know about dear ol' dad's side of the family because I have nothing to do with him or his family). What I'm trying to say is the next time you're at your doctors ask to be tested. You can be at an ideal weight, eat well and have no diabetics in your family, yet you can still be diabetic or at risk at developing it.

In anticipation of yesterday's doctor's appointment, I had blood work done a couple weeks ago. The prognosis, as it stands, isn't good. At my last appointment my good cholesterol was good and my bad was a little higher than it should be. This time my triglycerides are so high they can't get a good reading on my cholesterol levels. I now have a prescription for meds to lower my cholesterol. My HA1c is at nine point something. The best it's been is eight something. It should be seven or lower. My kidneys are leaking protein into my urine. That indicates artery damage in my kidneys which indicates artery damage elsewhere (heart, etc.).

My doc wants me to test my blood glucose four times a day for a week and I'm to see him again on Monday. He said at this point my options are to up the drugs I'm currently taking (metformin and glyburide), or add Avandia (another diabetes med), or move on to insulin. We'll see how this week's testing goes and discuss those options on Monday.

Doc also strongly suggested that I need to lose weight and that I go to Weight Watchers to do so. He mentioned this before and Eli and I discussed it but we really didn't take it anywhere. I'm going to do some online research today on WW (where, when, how much) and follow up on it. I am also going to start walking every day (from our RV to the RV park entrance and back is about a mile - pretty much perfect).

It's probably needless to say but the ride home from the appointment was rough. This is a lot of bad news in one big lump. I haven't felt this devastated (health-wise) since I was diagnosed. However, I think it's really woken me up to reality. I have to do something about this if I want any quality of life. I guess it comes down to do I want to live to eat or eat to live.

So, does anyone have any links, anecdotes, etc. for WW? Any and all info would be appreciated.

Friday, March 24, 2006

Did I Mention...

Actually, I know I didn't. Remember me tripping up the stairs to the washroom? (Oops, I just looked at my archives and I forgot to tell y'all. I tripped on the bottom step lip thingie turning my right knee into spam and shredding my left big toenail. It's pretty much healed now with a bit of scab remaining on my knee.) Tuesday, on my way to Mum's, I stopped in at Burger King for breakfast. As I was leaving I stepped off a curb and my right ankle/foot twisted under me and down I went. Thank the gods the parking lot was empty and no one saw me. So, now my left knee resembles spam and my ankle is stiff and sore. Well, all of me is kinda stiff and sore. Anyway, what's weird is the area just above my left breast (hee, she said breast!) is sore. I think I had my hands kinda tucked under me when I landed and that's what happened to my boob (boob!).

I'm such a klutz.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

She's Baaack!

Had a luverly trip. Helped Mum buy shoes for the wedding and she bought me a pair of earrings as a thank you. Prezzies are always appreciated.

The meetup went really well. Met about a dozen MetaPeople. I'm always pleasantly surprised when people seem genuinely happy to meet me and that seemed to be the case. I came out of my shell enough to engage a bit and had a really good time. I ended up not taking any photographs. There were at least two other cameras in action tho', but if someone took photos of me, I was unaware of it. However, if there's a decent one, I'll share.

Note to self: now that it's Spring, I need to do something to brighten up the place. I'm thinking green or yellow. Cheerful, you know? Okay, enough talking to myself.

Monday, March 20, 2006

Huzzah!

Eli just got a temporary promotion including a 10.25% increase in his salary. A coworker is on maternity leave for a year and Eli gets to fill in for her. The contract says it's for only six months but it's likely to be extended another six months at that time.

I'm leaving tomorrow morning to spend a couple days at Mum's. I'm going to my first Meetup on Wednesday night (it takes place in Seattle). I'm already nervous but I can't wait to meet whomever shows up from MetaChat and MetaFilter. I already feel nervous enough to barf, but I'm sure it'll be fine.

And it'll be fun to see Mum for a couple days. I owe her a birthday present and we'll go shopping for that. She also needs shoes, if not a dress, for Bro#2's wedding. Shopping for that should be fun as well.

Ran across a really ..er.. interesting site the other day: Mysterious People. I've only looked at a couple pages so far, but y'all may enjoy it.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Are We Having Fun Yet?

Hm. Eli's computer is hung.
Let's see if turning the monitor off and on will do it.
Nope. Okay, let's reboot it. La la la.
Well, no internet connection, that's odd.
We'll do the ol' hook and rehook the cable trick. La la la.
Still nothing. Well that's just weird.
Let's reboot the whole modem then. La la la.
And now let's restart the computer. Yay!
Alrighty then.
Ahhh, EverQuest has an update. La la la.
Update is done, let's start EQ.
Hm. That's weird.
Windows error, wants to send report to Mr. Gates. Let's click no.
Trying again... same error. Bugger! And buzz off Mr. Gates!
Let's try a restart on the pc. La la la.
Trying EQ again. Alright, now we're getting pissed off. Stupid computer.
Let's hard boot this freakin' thing. La la la.
Trying EQ again. Dammit! Oh well, Eli gets to deal with it later.

And no, I'm not going to update my EQ install at this point. Do I look stupid?
Don't answer that!

Suzy Homemaker

There will be a quick flurry of house-cleaning today. Mum and her best friend will be here tomorrow for a short visit. BF is visiting from Las Vegas for their joint birthday (March 18). At this point the plans are to visit Fort Langley for shopping and lunch. I don't know that we'll make it to the actual fort, but the town has a little shopping area that's kinda fun and I think that's what we're aiming at. Eh, we'll see what happens.

As for the trip to Las Vegas in May for Bro#2's wedding - ain't gonna happen. Eli and I decided that we'd rather save the money that Vegas would cost (approx $1500 USD) for our plans in September (Vancouver Island among other things).

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Oh, The Weather Outside Is Frightful

It didn't snow much last night. Just enough to give the grass dandruff. This morning, however, it's been snowing and snowing and snowing. And snowing some more.

Management just came by and shoveled the walks. It's not going to stay clear long.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Blizzard, Anyone?

We may actually get snow tonight. It's coming down really good in Vancouver and Burnaby (about 15 miles from here). On top of it we're expected to get 80 to 90 kph winds.

Friday, March 03, 2006

Kodak Moments

If you've ever been curious on how a person (or two) live in the small space of an RV, you're in luck. I've uploaded a set to flickr for your viewing pleasure.

There are also new photos of Oliver and Abigail.

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Mardi Gras!



As it turns out, it's also Pancake Tuesday. Guess what I'm having for lunch!

Monday, February 27, 2006

PostSecret

If you haven't been reading PostSecret, you should.

Viva Las Vegas!

Bro #2 finally owned up to have not really married his current wife. We already knew this thanks to a certain loose-lipped niece, but it's funny he's finally owned up to it. Anyway, they're getting married at the Bellagio in May. Rumour has it that Mum, Bro #1, Eli and myself will drive down to Vegas for the wedding. Yay, road trip! It should be really nice in May - no snow and not too hot yet.

Mum still doesn't understand getting married in Vegas, but is glad it's going to be at the Bellagio. She's been inside and thought it was very well done. She really liked the Chihuly ceiling which I'm looking forward to seeing. Getting married in Vegas isn't my cup of tea either but I can see why some people want to do it. Maybe it's an age thing.

I don't know yet if it's going to be formal, semi-formal or nice casual. In any case I get to go shopping. I haven't shopped for nice clothes in a long, long time. It should be interesting.

I haven't been to Vegas since I was 18 or so (twenty years if anyone is counting). A large group of my co-workers rented a bus and made an overnight trip out of it. Yes, I gambled, and yes, I was nervous and no, I didn't get caught. Bro #3 was fresh out of the Navy and went with me. After we got bored with the casinos we went to a movie theater and saw Nightmare on Elm Street (the first one). It was a fun, odd trip.

Back to Bro #2 - he's an interesting guy. One of our cousins has the rest of us cousins (there are a total of ten cousins on my mum's side of the family - my four brothers, myself, two other gals and three more guys) half convinced that Bro #2 is or was a CIA agent. His *cough* cover story is that he was in the Army doing communications stuff. He's led an interesting life to say the least.

Wife #1 was German with a son and daughter (step-kids to my bro) and the family never met them (he met, married and divorced her when he was stationed in Texas).

Wife #2 was Korean whom he met when stationed in Korea. We met her a few times, but we never met her family. They lived in New York for most of their relationship. Apparently it turned out she married him so she could live in the U.S. and bring her parents here as well. She was a lounge singer (Korean lounges, apparently) and got caught up in drugs and who knows what else.

Between #2 and #3 he had a long-term relationship with a girl in Belize (he worked there for a couple years). She sent a letter to Mum at one point stating that the baby she had was my brother's son. Bro said it wasn't, that she had an affair with another American living there. The picture she sent was inconclusive.

The lady he's going to marry is wife #3. We've met her twice and she's a good match for Bro. She's from Russia (Odessa, to be exact), she's Jewish*, divorced and has two daughters. One daughter is almost done with college and the other is almost done with high school.

Mum is going to visit them for a week in April. They live on Long Island and they both work in NYC. I'm rather jealous of the visit but I don't have the money to join them.

*Thanks to my brothers I have two Jewish sisters-in-law and one born-again SIL. On Eli's side there is one Catholic SIL, one Anglican SIL, one ex-Jehovah's Witness SIL and one First Nations (Native American) SIL. We're nothing if not eclectic! I've only listed this out because I got to thinking about it and thought the mix was interesting. Me? I think they consider me the odd-one out: I'm pierced, tattooed, married to an older guy and living in a foreign country.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Ta Da!

It's done.

Complaint one: I can't get the gap between the banner and the Blogger navigator to go away (the gap is there in Firefox, IE doesn't have enough space between the navigator and the banner).

Complaint two: I'd rather have the sidebar on the right-hand side. Would a kind soul take a look at the css and give me the tweaks to move it over? Pretty please?

The beautiful graphics are from citrusmoon. Taz is a wonder with graphics. The original template is from noipo.org but you'd never recognize it.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Messy

Please don't mind the mess. I'm tweaking the template. I'll let you know when I'm done.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Johari Window

I'd never heard of a Johari Window before finding a post about it at MetaChat. You pick five or six words that you believe describe yourself. Then whomever you make the link available to picks five or six words that s/he thinks best describe you. It's interesting to see where they coincide and don't coincide. My Window is here. Let me know in the comments if you do a Window and I'll "do you" as well.

;^)

Whining

I forgot to mention the Jeep had to have more work done on it. Poor Eli was driving home last Wednesday when it died on him. He had it towed to the mechanic we use and caught the bus home. All told, it took him six hours to get home. Anyway, it turned out it was the radiator. For some reason the gauge wasn't showing it as hot. Long story short - and $500 later - it got a new radiator and the usual new oil, filter, etc.

And my mouth hurts - I'm having to take about six Tylenol 3 a day. Funny thing is that it's the inside of my cheek (it was rather roughed up with the extractions) rather than my gums where the teeth were extracted.

:^(

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Happy VD Day!

Yeah, I know the "D" or "Day" is redundant. Sue me.



The idea for this was stolen from here.

Last bit for my teefers: I had my last two wisdom teeth extracted yesterday. They were gnarly to quote my dentist. He asked if I wanted to take them home. No, thanks. But I did want to see them. He cleaned them up and showed them to me. Yep, gnarly indeed! My roots are corkscrewed into my gums. And I look like a half-assed chipmunk today. And it's a good thing I had lots of Tylenol 3 left over. Blergh. I'm glad it's all done.

So, I have one root canal and four fillings. Is that about average for adults?

Sunday, February 12, 2006

I've Gone to the Darkside

I've made an account at MySpace and even spent a couple hours making it kinda/sorta tolerable to look at. You are safe clicking the link - no music shall invade your ears. The link to my profile is in the sidebar.

More serious news - Eli's brother called about the settling of their Dad's estate. The house (and other miscellaneous stuff) has sold and escrow closes at the end of February. Some of Eli's share will go to pay off the credit card we used to buy plane tickets, etc. to go back to Ontario for Dad's service. The RV will be paid off this summer. With the money from the (future) sale of the trailer and the inheritance we'll have a very nice down payment. As wonderful finally having a real place to live will be, we'd both rather have Dad still alive.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

A Story

Someone at a site I frequent came up with a suggestion: write a little story based on this photograph. Mine is below.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


The taxi driver let Marianne off at the curb. It took some time but eventually she persuaded the driver she’d be okay and he left. She could see the driver shaking his head as he drove away. With a small smile she turned and faced the cemetery.

As far as Marianne could tell she was alone. All she saw were a few crows fluttering about from tree to headstone. Something fluttered in the tree next to her and she turned to see what it was. A little sparrow was perched on an even smaller branch watching her. They stared at each other for a few moments before the sparrow fluffed his feathers and flew away. The crows called to each other and the wind moaned softly as it traveled through the tall pine trees. No other sound could be heard in this quiet place.

Marianne took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and set across the snow towards the centre of the cemetery. Pete’s headstone was about a quarter mile from the entrance and she was thankful there wasn’t much snow. Marianne stumbled once, rose and brushed the snow off her new red wool coat with her black gloves. She made sure that the contents of the paper bag she was carrying were intact and walked on.

Ah, there it was, Pete’s headstone. Trembling, she reached out and brushed the snow off the headstone with a gloved hand. Crouching down she removed the bottle of Wiser’s from the brown paper bag. Marianne carefully placed the bottle against the base of the headstone. She reached again into the bag and pulled something small from it. As she stood she folded the empty bag and placed it in her pocket. Her right hand clenched around the other item and Marianne brought her hand to her heart.

Marianne took a step back from the headstone, eyeing the composition. With a sigh she abruptly sat down in the snow, still facing Pete’s headstone. “Why, Pete, why?” came softly from her lips. “Why did you leave me? And in this place of all places.” There was no one to hear her quiet questions except the lone sparrow.

The sparrow twittered at Marianne from a tree a few feet away. She didn’t hear it through her tears. Using her left hand to wipe her face, Marianne reached out and placed the item in her right hand on the top of the headstone. It was a small pewter plane.

As it began to snow Marianne settled down onto the ground. She curved her body around the bottle of Wiser’s as if to protect it. The sparrow flew down to Pete’s headstone and pecked at the plane. Finding it wasn’t food, the sparrow turned to Marianne. It didn’t take long until the sparrow couldn’t see her; the snow gently covered every bit of Marianne’s new red coat. The sparrow fluffed his feathers once again and went to find sustenance elsewhere.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Oliver

The cat is insane. The proof is in the pudding:

I was sitting on the toilet flipping through a magazine. My sweats and undies were around my knees. The door was ajar as usual (cats go insane when there is a closed door between s/he and her/his human). Oliver meandered in to see what I was up to (I'm doing what I usually do in the washroom, silly cat). He decided that my sweats looked like a good hiding place and proceeded to climb in. Oliver got all the way in and gazed up at me as I looked down at him. He then settled in as if it were nap time.

Insane, I tell you.

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Stormy Weather

We had an intense windstorm yesterday that started the night before. We lost power at about 9:45 a.m. Saturday morning and it wasn't restored until 3:30 p.m. Sleeping and reading wasn't exactly how I expected to spend my Saturday but there were people much worse off than I. Delta (about 15 miles from where Eli and I live) had severe flooding and a woman in Washington died when a tree fell on her.

I'm glad it's all over and the fall-out wasn't worse.

But you know what? My sense of time is all fucked up. It feels like it should be afternoon or evening. I think part of that is because Eli had to get up at 3:00 a.m. this morning to work a bit from home. Everything just feels off.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Whereas We Talk About My Mouth, Again

The root canal completion and the filling I needed were done yesterday. The filling is in a fairly forward tooth. I've never had one that close to the front of my mouth before. The numbing was quite intense. I could feel it up into the bottom of my right eyelid and my right nostril. Later in the afternoon I was munching on something soft (cookie!) and bit down wrong. Holy Mary, Mother of God - the pain was exquisite. I'll get my nose re-pierced a dozen times and a full body tattoo before I want to feel that kind of pain again. It's a bit sensitive today, but no pain.

Anyway. My wisdom teeth extractions are scheduled for February 13. I'll be so very glad when this is all over.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Weird

Is it just me or is the font smaller on this site? I checked IE (I use Firefox, of course) and it's smaller, too.

PS: Never mind. It helps when one closes the "small" tag used in a previous post.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Saturday, January 28, 2006

When Will It Be Over?

You know, if I'm not at my regular doctor it seems I'm at the dentist. The fun part is that they're both in the same town - over an hour's drive away.

My root canal is now two-thirds complete. I go back Wednesday for the final filling. I guess we ran out of time because the dentist didn't get to the tooth that needs filling (although he numbed it) and wisdom tooth extractions. At least, I thought he was going to do it all yesterday. Whatever. I think I heard him say that the filling may actually turn into another root canal. Blergh.

Isn't my ongoing dentistry a wonderful topic? Ah well, there ain't much else to write about.

Except, of course, the weather! We had several power outages last night due to high winds. The outage this morning lasted several hours.

Wheeee, my life is so very intriguing.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Love Bites

The main problem with loving someone is how much it hurts when s/he hurts you. Whether it's deliberate or not is irrelevant. You've opened up yourself to this person and his/her opinion matters to you. It would be convenient if you could close yourself off to the hurt, but then you'd close yourself off from love. And that, my dears, would bite.

And now you'll have that song stuck in your head as I do.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Conservatives Win

Well, fuck me with a chain saw. This is not good news if my previous sentence didn't clue you in. It's as if the Republicans just got voted in. Shitpissdamnhellfuck. Well, as I said before, at least it's a minority government.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Canada Votes

Canada is having a major election today - the Prime Minister's job is up for grabs. It's so very Canadian that the first link at Canada.com is about how today's weather might affect the polls. Man, these people talk about the weather every chance they get.

A joke sent to me from Eli today (I added their respective parties in parenthesis):

Martin (Liberal Party incumbent), Harper (National Democratic Party) and Layton (Conservative Party) are flying on the Executive Airbus to a gathering in British Columbia when Martin turns to Harper and says, chuckling, "You know, I could throw a $1,000 bill out the window right now and make someone very happy."

Harper shrugs and replies, "Well, I could throw ten $100 bills out the window and make ten people happy."

Not to be outdone, Layton says, "Well I could throw a hundred $10 bills out the window and make a hundred people happy."

The pilot rolls his eyes and says to his co-pilot, "Such arrogant asses back there. Hell, I could throw all three of them out the window and make 32 million people happy.

Funny, eh? (Ha! I kill myself!)

PS: Eli is back to work today.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Ta Da!

The background tile is from Squidfingers. It's a wee bit busy but I like it. And let me tell you, finding a tile to match coordinate with this template was an ordeal.

Yea or nay?

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Arsenic and Old Lace

Apparently our water source here at the RV park has arsenic in it. Whee! We've been told it's okay to wash (dishes, clothes, bodies) but not to drink the water. Management will be providing free bottled water until they can replace the water system. It just makes me wonder if we don't have the flu and actually have been poisoned. Apparently a lot of arsenic poisoning symptoms are similar to flu symptoms. Actually, I'm not that worried about it (we've had an additional water filter here at the trailer for six months or so). I just wonder how long it's been a problem without us knowing about it. And yes, the wee beasties will be getting bottled water as well, spoiled brats that they are (kidding!).

My tooth canal thingie is doing okay. It seems to be a bit swollen but not especially painful. I've taken three or four Tylenol 3s (not all at once!) and that seems to be keeping everything hunky-dory. It's nice not having a numb cheek anymore. I was beginning to wonder if the dentist had damaged a nerve or somesuch.

I'm going to be playing around with the template a bit, so don't panic if you see something weird. Just grab your towel and hang on.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Owie

Actually, the root canal wasn't bad at all. The dentist was so generous with the novocaine that my cheek is still slightly numb. The tooth is a wee bit sore and sensitive but not enough to take any of the Tylenol 3 that I have (well, maybe one). I still have to go back (next Friday) for the final packing, etc. but I'm not worried about that at all. I'm also getting two wisdom teeth extracted (the last two, yay!) and a cavity filled. Yet another fun-filled day, eh?

Thanks to Shelley for her well wishes and for linking to a good article describing root canals. It's always great when I know what's going to happen. And my dentist was impressed that I took the time to look it up and knew what was going on.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Dread

I've finally quit putting it off and my root canal is schedule for tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. The irony? I still feel like shit. Worse than ever, really - sore throat, earache, headache, achy in general.

More fun news: I have had a chance to get a year-old pug for free. Yes, free. I want to be healthy and a dog will give me a reason (doing good for myself isn't a good enough reason - yes, I'm fucked up) to get up off my ass and walk. Eli still refuses to have a dog. I know I am ultimately responsible for my health. However, I'm fairly powerless to do anything about it on my own. Eli knows this and yet, I still get told no. I don't understand.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

I'm Slow

I should have used "Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink" as the title to yesterday's post. Today, that isn't true. The powers-that-be fixed the water problem last night at about 8:00 p.m. Although it's a simple thing, being able to take a shower on demand is a blessing. Trust me on this.

A scum-sucking bottom-dweller has decided that spamming my journal is fun. I'm turning on comment moderation for now. All comments except spam will be approved so please, don't let it deter you from making a comment.

Dear Blogger,

Just a quick note: being able to turn off commenting in old posts would be sweet. I would love you forever and ever, amen.

Love,
me


PS: Eli is still home.

Monday, January 16, 2006

Guess What?

Eli's still home. He was feeling better this weekend but didn't get much sleep Saturday or Sunday night. And, of course, he's still feeling crappy. However, the mister came up with a brilliant plan - NyQuil! He doesn't really have the symptoms it covers but it will help him get some decent sleep. I just wish one of us had thought of it sooner.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here's a cool Livejournal (yes, really!) with photos of a Bag End dollhouse. Here are the photos of the completed project.

And darn it. We were a day short of the rain record. You'd never know it here in the ol' RV park. The river that runs through it (ha!) is quite full and the duck pond has overfloweth.

And, ironically, the water in the park is kaput. But the Trailer Trash Goddess came up with a wicked smart (pronounced: wicked smaht) plan. The largest Tupperware container has been placed outside under the dripping awning to catch rainwater. We can, therefore, flush the toilet. Yay me! The powers-that-be have been mucking about with stuff (I've seen them wandering about outside) but I have no idea when our water rations might be reinstated.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Sunshine!

Yay, sunshine! We have sunshine for the first time in 26 days (well, the first sunshine that's lasted more than five minutes). It's supposed to rain later on today which will be the 27th consecutive day of rain. The record is 28 days set in 1953. We're supposed to surpass that. It's so damn fun living in the Pacific Northwest! Actually, I love it here. I can't think of any other place on the planet that I'd rather be.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Still Home III

Yep, Eli's still home. We went to the doc today and yep, it's the flu. Doc said there's not much he can do about it. He suggested buying Gravol for the nausea and lack of sleep. I don't know how much good it will do, but we'll give it a try. The only other directions are to rest and keep liquified (ha!). Oh, and don't forget - Eli had his flu shot this year and still he's this ill. Poor sucker baby.

Monday, January 09, 2006

Still Home II

Eli is still home. He's going to call the doc for an appointment. I think his biggest problem is not sleeping. (I'm feeling about the same as I was when I last posted - achy, nauseated, etc.) I'm fairly worried as this really isn't like him. We'll just have to see what the doc says.

We've watched most of the Firefly DVDs. There's only the last episode and the special stuff to go through. I still can't believe someone in his/her right mind canceled this show. It had to be revenge or something of that sort. Or, possibly, Whedon didn't grant sexual favours to the right person (maybe that's the same thing?). Fox has been known to bring back a series or two (The Family Guy for one, rumour has it Futurama may be returning). I guess I'll have to hope for that or that they keep making movies.

There's a good article on diabetes in today's online NYT. You can read it here (I've linked to the printable version, I don't think you have to register for that). It's fairly NYC-centric (statistics and such) but informative nonetheless. I've said it before and I'm saying it again: a lot of people who have diabetes don't know it. Next time you're at your doctor's office - tell him/her you want to be tested. If you have a friend with diabetes, ask if you can try his/her tester (I'd be glad to do it). If your sugar levels are above normal - get a real test done. It doesn't matter if no one in your family has it - you can still get diabetes (I'm the only diabetic in my family). It's an awful chronic illness that leads to blindness, amputation, kidney failure and other complications. No matter how you go about it - get tested.

Friday, January 06, 2006

Still Home

Eli's home again today. And I'm feeling crappier. On the plus side I've postponed my dentist appointment once again. I don't want to deal with the flu (?) as well as an aching mouth. Uh uh, no way, ain't happening.

I remembered what I wanted to post yesterday:

My hands hurt. I realized a couple weeks ago that they were aching and had been for some time. Some days are worse than others, but they always ache to some degree. Being online (typing) doesn't seem to aggravate it, besides, my left hand hurts more than my (dominant) right hand. Arthritis? Fibromyalgia, maybe? I have weird intermittant aches in both of my shoulders as well. I have a doctor's appointment for a full physical in March. I'll bring it up with him then if it doesn't get worse before.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Poor Baby

Eli was scheduled to go back to work on Tuesday (he'd been on holidays since December 24). He's still home. He's been feeling like crap the last few days - achy, sore throat, stuffed sinuses, headaches, not sleeping well (me, too, but not as bad as Eli). I think there's a bit of depression (about Dad) mixed in there as well. Not to mention just being tired and not enough time off this last year.

Eli's first ex-wife called last night. She's sending annulment papers for him to sign. The ex is Catholic and Eli is not, but he agreed to get married in the Church and for any children to be raised Catholic. Anyway, it was mentioned when we went back for Dad's funeral that she had a boyfriend and they were thinking about getting married. That's happening, apparently. My daughter-in-law mentioned that she thought the ex stayed single for a long time hoping for a reconciliation with Eli. Sorry, Charlie, that ain't happening. You snooze, you looze.

Did a bit of tweaking on the ol' blog last night. Signed up with Technorati but the button won't show up. Ah, well. I'm thinking of doing some stuff graphic-wise but I'm not sure I want to get that involved right now.

Shit, shit, shit. There was more I was going to blog about but now I can't remember what. Can one have Alzheimer's before she turns 40 years-old?

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Four

Four jobs you've had in your life:
babysitter, receptionist, loan underwriter, help-desk flunky

Four movies you could watch over and over:
Star Wars, Last of the Mohicans, The Breakfast Club, Sense and Sensibility

Four places you've lived:
California, Texas, Washington, British Columbia

Four TV shows you love to watch:
Cold Case Files, Lost, Cops (shut up), What Not to Wear

Four places you've been on vacation:
Vancouver Island, UK (England & Scotland), Northern Arizona, San Francisco

Four websites you visit daily:

my blog, MetaChat, AskMe, MetaTalk

Four of your favorite foods:
pizza (Round Table's Italian Garlic Supreme), Cinnabons, toast w/marmalade, Campbell's Tomato Soup

Four places you'd rather be:
Vancouver Island (yup, that's it)

Four albums you can't live without:
Patsy Cline - 12 Greatest Hits, Billboard Top Hits: 1979, Celtic Twilight - Volume 2, Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing

[ via everywhere, now it's your turn ]

Monday, January 02, 2006

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm late, but I have an excuse - I was out of town. Neener neener.

Ahem.

I hope y'all have a wonderful 2006. May it be better than last year.

Eli and I went to Kamloops for a short visit with the in-laws. We drove up Friday. The Coquihalla was snowy to say the least. It wasn't as bad as I feared, but it was still rather teeth-clenching. Sad thing is that there wasn't enough snow in Kamloops to use the toboggan. Ah well. We four watched the Fantastic 4 Friday evening. It was okay. Not one that I'd buy but I'm sure Eli will. Saturday was a lazy day - SIL and I watched TV as she knitted and I read. BIL and Eli went to Futureshop to upgrade their hub to a router. We played Texas Hold 'em 'til 1:30 this morning. I hadn't ever played but I still came in third (Eli lost first, ha!). The drive back down the Coq was uneventful as well. All in all a good visit.

Eli's dad's will was in the mail. So, you'd think the five surviving sons would normally have split any inheritance five ways, right? That's not exactly what happened. It turns out that Dad included BIL-in-Kamloops ex-wife in the will - BIL and his ex get to split a share. Dad didn't do this to any of his other sons all of whom are married (as is BIL-in-Kamloops to a woman he was married to before the date on the will). No one is very pleased with this except, of course, the ex-wife. Actually, I don't know that she's pleased as I've never spoken with her. But with everything I've heard about her I'm thinking I'm probably correct.